52 - Hebrews 11:20-22: The Faith of Isaac, Jacob, Easu and Joseph

Hebrews 11:20-22

“By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning their future. Faith enabled Jacob on his deathbed to bless Joseph’s sons, and he worshipped as he leaned on his staff. Faith inspired Joseph as he was dying to confidently speak of the Israelite’s future exodus from Egypt, and gave instructions concerning his burial.”   (paraphrased)

Abraham’s son (Isaac), grandson (Jacob) and great-grandson (Joseph) form the trio of patriarchs that dominate the book of Genesis. The writer selects incidents from the final segment of the lives of these three patriarchs which best illustrate their faith. The elderly Isaac knew the day of his death was approaching (Gen. 27:2). Jacob realized the time he would die was drawing near (Gen. 47:29). When Joseph was nearing the end of his life, he made the Israelites swear they would not leave his bones in Egypt (Gen. 50:25). Although each of them reiterates God’s promises, none of these men ever possessed Canaan. Isaac died a nomadic pilgrim, Jacob died an exile in Egypt, and Joseph died as an Egyptian official. But each of them passed away knowing God would keep His word. In each of these three cases, godly parents were determined to pass God’s blessings on to their children.

Portfolio of Isaac 
Isaac, the promised son of Abraham and Sarah, was born at Gerar and circumcised when he was eight days old (Gen. 21:3-4). When Isaac was a boy, Hagar and Ishmael were banished at Sarah’s request, so that his half-brother would not overshadow the favored son (Gen. 21:10). Isaac’s submissive spirit is best depicted by his obedience to his father’s instructions on Mount Moriah (Gen. 22:6-8). When Isaac was forty (Gen. 25:20), because Abraham did not want Isaac to marry a local Canaanite girl, he sent a servant back to Mesopotamia to seek a wife for him (Gen. 24:3). Isaac was a man of prayer, for he is seen praying as his new bride arrived (Gen. 24:63). Rebekah was a great comfort to him after his mother, Sarah, passed away (Gen. 24:67).

Although Isaac and Rebekah were childless, God heard their prayers and gave them twin sons: Esau and Jacob. Their birth story depicts how Jacob would one day supplant his older brother (Gen. 25:22-26). Famine later drove Isaac’s family into the Philistine land of Gerar (Gen. 26:1). There God reiterated to Isaac the promise He made to his father concerning his posterity (Gen. 26:2-5). Years before, Abraham had twice lied about Sarah in order to spare his own life (Gen. 12:13 & 20:2). Following his father’s bad example, Isaac lied about his wife. He told Abimelech, the Philistine king, that Rebekah was his sister. The king discovered the trick and rebuked him (Gen. 26:8-11). Isaac became wealthy and dug a number of wells, which were claimed by the Philistines (Gen. 26:13-32). Isaac finally settled in Beersheba in the Promised Land where he made an alliance with Abimelech and the Philistines (Gen. 26:28-33).

The brief glimpses of Isaac’s character indicate he was submissive and obedient (Gen. 22:6), dedicated to Rebekah (Gen. 24:67), a man of peace (Gen. 26:20-22), affectionate (Gen. 27:26-27), God-fearing (Gen. 31:42, 53) and one who avoided conflict (Gen. 35:7).

As an elderly man, Isaac was determined to give the family blessing to the elder son Esau, but Rebekah conspired to have the blessing conferred upon Jacob (Gen. 27:6-17). In the end, Isaac gave Jacob the greater blessing (Gen. 27:33). We last see Isaac just before his death, after Jacob returned from his twenty-year sojourn in Mesopotamia. Isaac died at age 180, having lived a longer life than either Abraham or Jacob (Gen. 35:28). Esau and Jacob join to bury their father in the cave of Machpelah (Gen. 35:29). The monuments found there honor Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob and Leah (Gen. 49:31). For reasons lost to antiquity, the biggest of these is the monument to Isaac.

v. 20
Because this passage in Hebrews concerns patriarchal blessings, it is important to understand that family progenitor privileges included:

1. The confirmation as an ancestor of the Messiah (Gen. 3:15).
2. The obligation to stay true to the covenant with Jehovah (Gen. 17:7).
3. The duty to continually perpetuate God’s laws to his children (Gen. 26:5).
4. The futuristic inheritance of the Promised Land (Gen. 28:4).
5. The right to a double portion of all his father’s possessions (Deut. 21:17).

Although the rights of the first-born (primogeniture) were well established (Gen. 21:15-17), God reserves the sovereign right to overrule them:

<> Abel’s sacrifice was accepted, instead of that of his older brother Cain (Gen. 4:4-5).
<> Isaac received Abraham’s blessing, instead of his older half-brother Ishmael (Gen. 21:10).
<> Jacob received the best blessing from Isaac, instead of his older brother Esau (Gen. 27:33).
<> Joseph was blessed by God, instead of his older brother Reuben (Gen. 49:3-4).
<> Ephraim received a better blessing from Jacob, instead of his older brother Manasseh (Gen. 48:19).

Esau is mentioned in this passage, but not as a man of faith. The writer refers to him only in contrast to his faithful brother. The writer later depicts Esau as a godless, unholy person who flippantly sold his birthright (Heb. 12:16). Rebekah, having inquired of the Lord regarding her sons before they were born, knew that Jacob was destined to receive the greater blessing (Gen. 25:23). Although Esau did get a blessing, it was insignificant compared to the one Jacob received (Gen. 27:39-40). Isaac was old when he blessed Jacob and Esau, but did not die until forty years later (Gen. 35:28). 

Portfolio of Jacob
When Rebekah gave birth to her twin sons, Jacob was born holding his brother’s heel (Gen. 25:26). This was emblematic of the fact he would one day usurp his older brother Esau’s inheritance. Jacob is pictured as a “quiet man” (Gen. 25:27). One day Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of beans (Gen. 25:33-34). Rebekah and Jacob would later take steps to ensure the blessing was conferred upon Jacob by his father Isaac (Gen. 27:6-29). After receiving the blessing, Rebekah sent Jacob to her brother, Laban, in Paddan-aram to flee from Esau’s rage (Gen. 27:43). In route from Beersheba to Haran, Jacob had a vision of a heavenly staircase (Gen. 28:12). He worked for his uncle Laban for twenty years and became wealthy (Gen. 30:30). Rachel, who had been barren, finally bore Jacob a son: Joseph (Gen. 30:22-24). The twelve children that were eventually born to Jacob became the forefathers of the tribes of Israel (Gen. 29-30). The Lord led Jacob to leave Haran and return to the Promised Land (Gen. 31:13). Before he crossed the river Jabbok, he wrestled all night with an angel who renamed him “Israel” (Gen. 32:28). The next day, Jacob is greeted in peace by his brother Esau (Gen. 33:4).

God later appeared to Jacob and reaffirms the Abrahamic covenant with him (Gen. 35:11-12). Rachel died as she gave birth to her second son, Benjamin (Gen. 35:16-20). A famine struck Canaan and Jacob sends some of his sons into Egypt to buy food (Gen. 42:1-2). Joseph’s good fortune in Egypt eventually allows him to relocate his aged father Jacob and extended family there (Gen. 46:5-9). Near the end of his life, Jacob pronounces his greatest blessings upon Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh (Gen. 48:8-20). At his own request, Jacob’s body is later carried back to Canaan and buried in the family burial cave in Machpelah (Gen. 47:30; 49:29-30; 50:13). 

v. 21
The writer omits the blessings conferred upon Jacob’s other children (Gen. 49:2-28), choosing to focus upon the time he blesses Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manasseh. Although they were born in Egypt, Jacob blessed them, for they were destined to head two separate tribes in Israel (Num. 1:33-35). Jacob bowed before God as he leaned on his staff and died in an attitude of worship (Gen. 49:33).

Portfolio of Joseph
Joseph was the first child born to his beloved Rachel while Jacob was working for Laban (Gen. 30:22-24). Jacob loved him, favoring him above all his children (Gen. 37:3). His jealous brothers sold him to Midianite merchants, but led Jacob to believe he had been killed by a wild animal (Gen. 37:27-34). The Midianites in turn sold him to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, and Joseph became an Egyptian slave (Gen. 37:36). Although he found great favor with his master, his wife accused Joseph of attempting to seduce her and he was thrown into prison (Gen. 39:20). There Joseph found favor with the jailer, who left everything to his supervision (Gen. 39:23). After two years, Pharaoh had dreams none could interpret but Joseph (Gen. 41:25-32). He was rewarded and became second only to Pharaoh himself (Gen. 41:40). Joseph married Asenath, the daughter of an Egyptian priest, who bore him Manasseh and Ephraim (Gen. 41:50-52).

During a time of famine, Joseph’s brothers were sent to Egypt to buy food (Gen. 42:1-2). Not recognizing the grain overlord as their brother, Joseph devised a plan to cause them to acknowledge their evil deeds. After finally revealing himself to his brothers (Gen. 43-45), Joseph brought his father Jacob and his extended family to live with him in Egypt (Gen. 47:1). Jacob made Joseph swear to bring his body back to Canaan for burial (Gen. 47:29-31). Joseph requested the same concerning his remains (Ex. 13:19). After more than four centuries, Joseph finally reached his final resting place in the cave of Machpelah (Josh. 24:32).

Joseph’s life was characterized by humility, morality, faithfulness, gentleness, sensitivity, patience, perseverance and determination. He was a prodigy, for his envious brothers did not deter him, being sold into slavery did not embitter him, the flirtations of an adulterous woman did not sway him, prison life did not destroy him, and his rank and title in Egypt did not corrupt him. Although he was the fourth-generation heir of God’s promises, he also died without seeing their fulfillment. 

v. 22
Of all the episodes in Joseph’s life the writer could have selected, he chooses his deathbed scene. He centers on God’s promise that his descendants will inherit Canaan (Gen. 50:24). Except for his first seventeen years, Joseph spent his entire life in Egypt. Although he was a man of power and influence there, he chose to be associated with his fellow Hebrews rather than the Egyptians. Like Moses, Joseph refused to be remembered as a pagan prince (Heb. 11:24).

His instructions regarding his burial in Canaan served several purposes:

<> It would be a monument to Joseph’s relationship to their great forefather Abraham.
<> It would testify to the consistent patriarchal faith in Jehovah.
<> It would serve as an emblem of their future deliverance from Egyptian bondage.
<> It would encourage them to have faith in God’s promise to bring them into Canaan.
<> It would signify that Joseph, represented by his remains, “accompanied” them.
<> It would assure them that Egypt was not a place even worthy of one’s remains.

As God told Abraham centuries earlier, Joseph also foresaw his descendants escaping after 400 years in Egyptian bondage (Gen. 15:13-14). Joseph “made mention” (emnemoneou) of the exodus which awaited his descendants. Emnemoneou means “to recall vividly.” He faithfully adhered to the original covenant regarding the future possession of Promised Land (Gen. 12:7).

The story of Genesis begins with Adam in a garden paradise and ends with Joseph in an Egyptian coffin. All three of the patriarchs mentioned in this section were convinced their deaths would bring their descendants closer to the fulfillment of God’s promises.

 

QUESTIONS: THE FAITH OF ISAAC, JACOB, ESAU AND JOSEPH

Hebrews 11:20-22

1. The name of Abraham’s son was Joseph. True or False?

2. Where did both Jacob and Joseph want to be buried?
A. Bethlehem
B. Jerusalem
C. Ur
D. Cave of Machpelah
E. Egyptian pyramids

3. Which of these women was Isaac’s wife?
A. Sarah
B. Rebekah
C. Rachel
D. Leah
E. Miriam

4. Isaac was:
A. obedient
B. submissive
C. God-fearing
D. affectionate
E. all of the above

5. According to Genesis 37:2, how old was Joseph when his brothers sold him into slavery?

6. What nickname did Joseph’s brothers give to him? (Genesis 37:19)

7. Name the five persons buried with Abraham. (Genesis 49:31 & 50:13)                                 

8. What new name did the angel give Jacob after wrestling with him?  (Genesis 32:28)

9. Discuss with your mate a time you “wrestled” with God over an issue.

10. Joseph escaped from his master’s wife so fast, what was she left holding? (Genesis 39:12)

11. Discuss with your spouse the dangers of sexual temptations at your workplace.

 

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